Renewable energy business Good Energy has strongly rebuffed the latest attempt at a takeover by the Gloucestershire green energy pioneer Ecotricity.
In a statement, the Wiltshire-headquartered Good Energy Group PLC pulled no punches pushing back against the Stroud business, calling its offer ‘hostile’ and ‘highly opportunistic’.
It is not the first time the Gloucestershire firm famously founded by Dale Vince, which owns 25.1 per cent stake in Good Energy, has attempted to bring the two businesses together.
A similar coup was fought off in 2017, when Good Energy was still run by its founder, another Five Valleys entrepreneur, Juliet Davenport.
Will Whitehorn, Good Energy chairman, said: ‘Ecotricity wishes to make Good Energy a renewable generation developer again, an approach we moved away from a number of years ago in favour of supporting small-scale renewable generators through long-term power purchase contracts.’
Mr Whitehorn said the significantly undervalued Good Energy, did not take account of its potential for growth and called Ecotricity a ‘loss-making business’.
‘Its claim that they consider us ‘sister companies, with more in common than separates us’, is contradicted by their history as a disruptive shareholder, voting down 100 per cent of our proposed special resolutions,’ said Mr Whitehorn, who said Good Energy was best served remaining as a plc.
Ecotricity’s most recent annual results show turnover grew by 15 per cent to £222.3 million with supplies to business customers (gas and electric combined) growing by 31 per cent.
Pre-tax losses were £6.6m, although the firm describes itself as in a ‘strong’ financial position with net assets at £14.8m, results it said showed a ‘good underlying trading performance’.
Read more: Ecotricity turnover exceeds £222 million thanks to ‘deep green’ business customers
By Andrew Merrell
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